Jackson’s Triangle Offense: One Way to Reshape a Knicks Star

When Phil Jackson’s most recent book tour took him to northern New Jersey last spring, he was asked for his opinion of the Knicks’ reigning star, Carmelo Anthony. Seldom shy, Jackson said, “An amazing ballplayer who still has another level to step up.”

From strictly an observer’s point of view, Jackson was most likely speaking in the most general terms. But what if he soon becomes the Knicks’ guiding force and his first major decision has to be whether to woo Anthony back for up to five additional seasons at the cost of almost $130 million?

What would “another level” mean, and how exactly would Jackson go about helping Anthony reach it?

The essence of Jackson assures us that it would not be in the way that Coach Mike Woodson has used Anthony — essentially giving him carte blanche to dominate an offense mostly characterized by isolation sets on the wing and quick jump shots off high screens or Anthony’s uncanny ability to create space for himself in one-on-one situations.

But while Jackson has been critical of the Knicks’ offense — and seemingly Anthony, by extension — three people who have worked with Jackson believe he would relish the opportunity to integrate Anthony into the triangle offense he used as a coach while winning a record 11 championships with the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers.

In fairness to Jackson and his continuing negotiations with James L. Dolan, Madison Square Garden’s executive chairman, the three people spoke on the condition of anonymity. But they agreed that Jackson respected great talent too much not to make every attempt to retain Anthony, given the alternative: letting him walk, clearing salary-cap space and banking on the mere hope of landing free-agent replacements in the next two years.

At 68, Jackson is not likely to embark on any five-year rebuilding plans unless he is given no choice. Given his track record, and ego, he would have every reason to think that implementing the triangle would make Anthony a more selective and team-oriented scorer in the way it helped Michael Jordan shed his early-career reputation as a premier solo act.

When Jackson relieved Doug Collins as the Bulls’ coach in 1989, he told the team’s general manager, Jerry Krause, that he wanted to run the triangle. As Collins’s assistant, Jackson had spent much time learning it from Tex Winter, who had grasped its fundamentals from his college coach, Sam Barry, at Southern California in the 1940s.

The triangle is a free-flowing offense that emphasizes body and ball movement, allowing all five players to assume multiple positions on the floor, especially at the post. Jackson has described it as “extremely simple,” comparing it to the rhythmic beat of music, yet it is complex enough to offer many options, depending on how the defense reacts to a series of passes early in the shot clock.

In Chicago, Jackson would tell players, “We don’t run the triangle for Michael and Scottie,” referring to Jordan and Scottie Pippen. “They can get 30 in any system,” Jackson said. “We run it for the rest of you. When you get good shots, that makes it easier on them.”

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No matter how much authority Jackson might have under Dolan, he would not have the power to guarantee Anthony’s return.CreditRichard Perry/The New York Times

According to one of Jackson’s former colleagues, Jordan did not often score from the post in his early days. But after he found himself in preferred matchups within the triangle, he went home to North Carolina the next summer and worked extensively on his post-up game. That got him to the free-throw line more and saved him from the wear and tear of dribbling too much in traffic.

Jackson has also espoused the belief that the triangle decreases the need for a great point guard — a commodity the Knicks have long lacked.

Though critics occasionally mocked Jackson’s offense as brilliant until the shot clock wound down and Jordan took over, they missed the point of how much energy the defense had to expend when the ball continually moved, wherever its ultimate destination.

One of Jackson’s old confidants offered the opinion that Anthony — if he would buy into the system — could thrive, as Jordan did, winding up with shots in superior positions, especially in late-game situations when defenses tend to stiffen. That would presuppose that Jackson could find the right coach for the triangle and systematically add the right players to execute it.

There are not many coaches and players well versed in the triangle because Jackson’s teams were the only ones to run it.

Another Jackson acolyte said the players who best understood the triangle in Chicago were Dennis Rodman and Steve Kerr, which might lend credence to speculation that Kerr would be a strong candidate to replace Woodson next season.

No matter how much authority Jackson might have under Dolan, he would not have the power to guarantee Anthony’s return. When Jackson replaced Collins in Chicago, Jordan was 26 and was not a free agent. Anthony, who will turn 30 in May, will presumably have choices and could decide that the triangle is not for him.

In Boston with the Knicks on Wednesday, Anthony said that management had apprised him of the Jackson negotiations. “I heard he will be coming aboard,” he said, though it was hardly a formal announcement.

Anthony added: “The only thing I know is playing against him when he was out in L.A. You could just see the teams put together and how much confidence he gave them guys out there — what he was able to create.”

If Jackson, the so-called Zen master, does come, Anthony could get his maximum money along with a new mantra. That would guarantee another level right there.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B14 of the New York edition with the headline: How to Reshape the Knicks? Try the Triangle. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe